Market Quote: Equity Markets End April on Better Footing
Author: The editor's desk
May 2, 2025
A weekly analysis of what’s happening in global financial markets from the perspective of AGF’s investment management team.
April Showers Bring May Flowers?
April came in like a bear but ended like a bull and may have investors feeling a bit more confident about their stock portfolios despite what is now three straight months of losses for many of the biggest global equity indexes.
Indeed, having endured through all the gut-punching selloffs and “rip your face off” rallies that took place seemingly daily over the past month, the S&P 500 Index has rebounded from being down 15% year-to-date on April 8 to now being down just a little over 4%.
We believe April’s performance is just another example of why staying invested during bouts of heightened market volatility (i.e. time in the market) is often a better strategy than trying to time the market.
Still, that doesn’t mean global equity markets are entirely set to rally higher from here. Many of the headwinds that have contributed to the weakness in stocks this year remain in play, including the threat of tariffs and geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East. These concerns could remain a focus of investors in May, as could the direction of central bank policy—especially as it relates to the U.S. Federal Reserve. Good news on any or all these fronts could lead to more gains for equity markets, but investors may need to buckle up if the reverse ends up being true.
100 Days and Counting
It’s been a rocky ride, but there are several reasons to believe that U.S. President Donald Trump’s first 100 days of his second term may be followed by some positives for the global financial markets in the second 100 days.
The biggest theme, in our opinion, is that Trump can be curbed by the markets themselves. After several days of 1,000-point losses [to the Dow Jones Industrial Average Index], Trump got the message — he toned down his criticism of the U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, and he softened his stance on tariffs. The markets won.
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Founded in 1957, AGF Management Limited (AGF) is an independent and globally diverse asset management firm. Our companies deliver excellence in investing in the public and private markets through three business lines: AGF Investments, AGF Capital Partners and AGF Private Wealth.
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